US EditionIstanbul’s mayor goes on trial with some 400 defendants in corruption case
Ekrem Imamoglu and over 400 co-defendants face charges including graft and espionage with prosecutors seeking prison terms exceeding 2,000 years, amid claims of political motivation.
- On March 9, Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul mayor , goes on trial at the Silivri prison complex as chief suspect among more than 400 defendants tied to the Istanbul municipality.
- Human Rights Watch's Benjamin Ward argued prosecutors seem to be targeting Imamoglu and the CHP, while Gurlek said he acted without bias, according to Friday reports.
- A January court ruling rejected Imamoglu's lawsuit challenging his university degree, affecting his eligibility, while he has been held at Silivri for almost a year as prosecutors seek prison sentences totaling hundreds of years.
- The trial could derail Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul mayor's presidential ambitions as he seeks to challenge Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, while overshadowing politics ahead of elections expected next year.
- Rights groups and foreign observers warn the prosecutions hurt Turkey's democratic standing, while Akin Gurlek, Justice Minister and former prosecutor, faces impartiality questions critics raise.
147 Articles
147 Articles
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his allies are accused by Ekrem İmamoğlu of initiating the crackdown due to the president's declining popularity.
Detained for a year, Ekrem Imamoglu is considered one of the few politicians capable of defeating Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power for twenty-three years. Arrested for corruption, he faces up to 2,352 years in prison on 142 separate charges.
Among other things, the politician of the largest opposition party CHP is accused of founding and leading a criminal organisation, bribery and money laundering. The opposition party speaks of a politically motivated trial.
The prosecution demands more than 2000 years for the Istanbul mayor. The accusation: corruption. The trial is considered politically motivated. On the first day of negotiations there is applause for him and other accused.
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